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Event strategy

Clarify considerations like goals, audience, and format. That helps you decide on content, speakers, and venue/ platform.

What's the goal of the event? Are you looking to share information? Create relationships? Explore something new together?

  • Is the audience clearly defined?

  • Choose an event name that is clear, compelling, and exciting.

    • Create consistent naming and branding as a group over time

  • Choose an event format that meets your goals and is appropriate to your audience. Formats include...

    • Presentations

    • Tutorials

    • Panels/ roundtables

    • Show-and-tell/ case study

    • Unconference/ Open Space

    • Workshops

    • Co-working, hackathons, or other generative formats

  • Does it hang together? Have you chosen a format, name, venue, and time that will be compelling to your audience and will meet your goals?

  • User group meetings can incorporate any of the formats above.

  • See Event Marketing for tips on getting the word out

Speakers & content

  • Try to get people from the group to present. Presenting can lead to more group leadership & ownership.

  • Other places to source speakers

    • AU speakers

    • Expert Elites

    • Resellers

  • Post the pictures of the people who’ll be presenting at your event, link to their website or LinkedIn page. (Example: DFWIUG Past Speakers list)

    • It looks good and and attracts people.

    • It acknowledges presenters’ expertise and helps them get their personal brand out there.

  • If you do really advanced topics, you’ll have a smaller event. But that might be what you want.

Venues

  • Venues might include

    • Offices

      • Autodesk offices, if you're near one and there's space available (contact us)

      • Autodesk partner offices

    • Bars/ restaurants

    • Schools/ classrooms

    • Conference centers

  • Choose a venue or online platform to match your format & goals

    • Don't be afraid to rearrange the furniture to enable people flow and conversation, based on your goals & agenda.

  • Location, location, location - it’s crucial!

    • Accessibility by public transport

    • Parking availability

    • Compelling space or neighborhood - where people want to go

    • If you're in a major city, find a central location to host the event so everyone can attend and drive the same distance.

  • It's a good idea to create a spreadsheet of local venues that your group might use, with contact information. This is a good shared resource for leaders.

  • Make sure you know any rules that might be imposed by the venue (e.g. no outside food)

    • Be careful of food and drink costs at venues like conference centers. They may be significantly marked-up.

  • For larger events, you may need a venue that offers multiple rooms.

  • Do a site visit

The online meeting technology you choose essentially becomes the venue if your event is virtual.

See Tips for Group Tools for more on virtual meeting technology

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